The “3-F’s” of Product Design for the New Age of Sustainability

Design has become an essential component of most serious product development efforts. The notion that “Good Design is Good Business” is widely accepted and practiced today (though there are many notable exceptions). Technology has helped meld aesthetic design with functional engineering, and made the translation to physical products much more graceful, efficient and cost effective. It’s hard to imagine there was considerable debate about “form versus function” when I was graduating from college in the early ‘80’s – a time when “design” was often dismissed as a frivolous expense and “industrial designers” were largely regarded as “stylists” – disdained by engineers and dismissed by senior executives. Today “and” has replaced “versus”, as Form and Function have become the strategic twins of modern product development.